The Brothers Grimm

(UK/Czech Republic/USA, 2005)

Reduced expectations: The reviews were so bad I didn’t expect much, so I enjoyed it more than I might have. Which is not to say it’s good. Terry Gilliam is the master of the stunning visual, he’s miles ahead of most of the idiots out there trying to amaze us. But his weakness has always been story and, to some extent, character. He’s best when he is completely over the top, so we don’t care that the characters aren’t deep and the story doesn’t make any sense. Here he wants us to care about the people involved, but can’t stay serious long enough so that we do. It’s all over the place. I’m glad I saw it, but I wouldn’t recommend it.